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Traveling carnival owner arrested in Ogden for allegedly exploiting foreign workers

By Mark Shenefelt standard-Examiner - | Jul 2, 2021
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Carnival workers are seen at the Midway West Amusements staging area in the west parking lot of Newgate Mall in Ogden on Friday, July 2, 2021. A co-owner of the carnival was arrested Thursday on charges of human trafficking for allegedly exploiting visa-holding workers from Mexico.

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Carnival workers are seen at the Midway West Amusements staging area in the west parking lot of Newgate Mall in Ogden on Friday, July 2, 2021. A co-owner of the carnival was arrested Thursday on charges of human trafficking for allegedly exploiting visa-holding workers from Mexico.

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Worker trailers are seen at right in the Midway West Amusements staging area in the west parking lot of Newgate Mall in Ogden on Friday, July 2, 2021. A co-owner of the carnival was arrested Thursday on charges of human trafficking for allegedly exploiting visa-holding workers from Mexico.

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The Midway West Amusements staging area in the west parking lot of Newgate Mall in Ogden is pictured on Friday, July 2, 2021. A co-owner of the carnival was arrested Thursday on charges of human trafficking for allegedly exploiting visa-holding workers from Mexico.

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Carnival rides ready to be transported at the Midway West Amusements staging area in the west parking lot of Newgate Mall in Ogden are pictured on Friday, July 2, 2021. A co-owner of the carnival was arrested Thursday on charges of human trafficking for allegedly exploiting visa-holding workers from Mexico.

OGDEN — State investigators arrested a co-owner of a traveling carnival Thursday after two workers from Mexico reported their bosses withheld their work visas, passports and pay and subjected them to inhumane conditions.

The employees tried to leave the carnival in Ogden but their documents and pay allegedly were withheld, so they left anyway and contacted the Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City, which forwarded the complaint to the Utah Attorney General’s Office.

According to a probable cause statement, the men said they were hired to work 40 hours a week for $400, but they soon became soured on the arrangements because they were made to work 70 hours a week without water or meal breaks. They allegedly lived in tight spaces inside trailers without running water, electricity or air conditioning. Some trailers reportedly did not have beds or a kitchen.

Jordan Nathaniel Jensen, 31, of Midway West Amusements, was charged Friday with three second-degree felony counts of human trafficking and nine class A misdemeanor counts of illegally possessing another’s identity documents.

On Wednesday, attorney general’s investigators had one of the workers wear video and audio recording devices, one capable of producing livestream audio, and return to the carnival staging area in the Newgate Mall west parking lot.

He flagged down Jensen, who was in a black pickup truck. Jensen had an interpreter come over to facilitate the conversation.

The worker asked for his last week’s pay and his passport back, and Jensen allegedly refused, telling him he would buy him a plane ticket back to Mexico. Once he boarded the plane, he would be given his passport back. Jensen also allegedly said once the man arrived home, the company would pay him for his last week worked.

“Jordan Jensen and Midway West Amusements kept the documents of their employees to control them,” the arrest affidavit said. “Keeping documents away from victims is a common tactic used by traffickers to control their victims by not allowing them to leave.”

State agents got a warrant to search the Midway office trailer Thursday. They reported they found nine passports of workers, three of them belonging to workers who had asked that they be returned.

Jensen then was booked into the Weber County Jail and ordered held without bail. In the arrest documents, state agents said no-bail detention was necessary to prevent Jensen from potentially retaliating against workers and tipping off others involved in the operation.

More arrests are possible as the investigation continues, officials said. Other people of interest include the other co-owners, Jensen’s mother and brother, according to his charging documents.

Jensen repeatedly threatened to send workers back to Mexico if they did not perform well, according to the two who came forward.

The arrest documents said Midway West arranged seasonal work visas for all their workers prior to their arrival in the United States.

Passports were collected when they started work or shortly thereafter, according to the affidavit. One of the workers said Jensen “explained to him he kept their passports because he did not want him to escape.” Jensen also allegedly said he had a right to keep the passports under a contract with the U.S. government.

The two workers said all their fellow employees were Mexican nationals.

“Traffickers understand that foreign nationals who have been granted H2A visas are more suitable to be exploited by working long hours, living in inhumane conditions, and getting paid lower wages, all due to the fact that foreign workers are usually uneducated about their rights, have a language barrier, and come from humble lives,” the arrest affidavit said. “Therefore, foreign national workers tend to endure any conditions in order to stay employed.”

According to its website, Midway West Amusements is a family-owned and -operated business based in Sun City, Arizona. State agents said Jensen’s home is in Gilbert, Arizona.

Attempts to contact the carnival office in Arizona were unsuccessful.

A Newgate Mall spokesperson who declined to be quoted by name said the carnival set up and operated in the mall lot last weekend. Trucks, trailers, disassembled rides and personnel trailers remained on the lot Friday.

“These laborers were living and working in inhumane conditions that could be dangerous to their health or even their lives,” Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes said Friday afternoon in a news release. “They were paid a paltry amount and had costs deducted on top of that.” He called it “a classic case of human trafficking or indentured servitude.”

Jose Borjon, consul of Mexico in Salt Lake City, said in a prepared statement, “We are outraged by the forced labor conditions Mexican temporary workers with visas were subjected to by this company and are currently supporting the victims with the aid of our partners: Utah Legal Services and the Asian Association of Utah.”

He added, “We encourage all of those who are in the same situation to denounce it. Do not be afraid — individuals and labor rights must be protected, and we all must fight human trafficking.”

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